Lowell PAPLOC now Claimform - old E-ON £3K+ bill

[BankFodder]

Start off by sending them an SAR. This is important and you should get it off today. Send it off to aeon and also one to your new supplier.

Also please look up the backbilling code 

Check the energy back-billing rules

WWW.OFGEM.GOV.UK

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Back bills are sent to you by your gas or electricity supplier when you've not been accurately charged. A guide to your rights.

 

But the gist of it is that they are only allowed to back bill you for 12 months usage – assuming that any errors or failure to take readings is theirs.

You need to begin with a subject access request. This is the starting point with any dispute with utilities companies

Also when you post documents, please can you make sure that they are the right way up and properly presented.

 

[BankFodder]

My typo. You must send a subject access request straightaway.

Don't start talking about closed accounts et cetera simply use our template and amended to suit your purposes but keep it extremely wide. In other words when I say amend it, simply put dates or reference numbers et cetera.

[BankFodder]

You should only make calls if you have read our customer services guide and implement the advice there.

Best practice – you should not make calls at all and if they ask you to call them, a you are best advised to tell them that if they have something to say then they should put it in writing.

Probably best off and wait until you see what the SAR returns.

Keep a tight deadline on this. The moment they don't comply at the end of 30 days then let us know.

Make sure you read our SAR advice on assessing what they have sent you – the things they have sent you are extremely important. The things that they failed to send you might be more important.

[BankFodder]

Sorry, but do I understand that you send them an essay on 17 January and then on 17 February you gave them another 30 days?

[BankFodder]

Can you tell us something about the SAR that you apparently sent.

I understand the dispute is in your husband's name – is this correct?

Who was the signatory to the SAR? – Was it you? Or was it your husband?

[BankFodder]

Well I don't fully understand the whole thing and I have visited this thread for some time.

If you sent an SAR with a 30 day deadline then I don't understand why you don't then enforce the deadline.

I telephoned E-ON and I told them that you had sent them an SAR giving them 30 days and that they breached the deadline so you gave another 30 days.
They laughed

[BankFodder]

Do you have any evidence that you sent the SAR? I'm assuming it was sent by post

[BankFodder]

Well I'm quite sure that they are going to breach the reminder as well.

So it's up to you if you want to take control. If you don't then it's probably not worth doing anything but then you still have a £3000 bill to deal with.

So on that basis, I will be looking to threaten them with a legal action and then to sue them for the distress they have caused. It would only be a small amount of money – maximum £100 but enough to cause them to look and see what on earth they are doing and to understand that they made a mistake by not supplying you with the data you want.

You have sent them a reminder which I believe expires about the 23rd of this month. You aren't bound by that date and and you could issue a letter of claim now if you wanted.

However you need to decide.

I notice that we first suggested that you send an SAR in the middle of December and yet you didn't send it until 17th of January. Then your deadline expired on 17 February and you didn't deal with that you simply gave them even more time.

I think you have to look at the way that you are dealing with this.

Believe me when they finally decide to take action for £3000, they won't muck around in the way that you are and they are more powerful than you and also the people who are dealing with this don't care. At 5 o'clock they simply go home and they don't think about you – whereas you have to live with this.

What you want to do? And more importantly if you do start to assert yourself – are you going to be consistent?

[BankFodder]

The SAR date.

I understand very well that your position is that you haven't used this much electricity. The trouble is that it's not us that you need to convince. It is either them or the courts.

If you want to push the SAR to begin with, then you will probably need to start a county court claim as I have indicated above – for a small amount of money – but enough to focus them.

I suggest that you spend a couple of days reading up on this forum about the steps involved in taking a small claim in the County Court. You might get some hints elsewhere. I'm not sure that the guide here is completely up-to-date because we don't have the resources to keep up.

However, we will help to see you through if this is what you decide to do. I suggest also that you visit the County Court money claim website and register there and start to get a feel for it.

If you feel that you are prepared to take a county court claim then let us know in a couple of days and then we will help you prepare the letter of claim you will send them giving them a 14 day deadline after which you will sue. This means that on day 15 you go ahead and you sue. It's not a bluff

[BankFodder]

So you are saying that they have disclosed your personal data to your husband – correct?

[BankFodder]

You aren't actually answering the question. Whose data is it and to whom has it been disclosed?

[BankFodder]

Thank you.

I had understood that they had disclosed your husband's data to or vice versa.

So what we are hearing here is that they haven't complied with your husband's SAR – they have simply disclose yours for a second time – is this correct?

[BankFodder]

Okay. Are you prepared to sue them for distress caused by the breach of the data protection act?

He would see the money for about £100 simply to get them moving on this. And to attract their attention

[BankFodder]

Don't worry. I understand .

You may as well keep on hassling for the disclosure of the SAR .

Why don't you send them a letter and point out their error and the fact that you are still waiting for the disclosure and that they are in breach of statutory duty.

 

You could also complaint to the ICO

 

 

[BankFodder]

No - that's right

[BankFodder]

In view of the stress that this is causing you, it may well be an idea to complain directly to the ICO and if eventually you can get a view from them that Eon have "probably" breached their obligations, then this will be enough to set off litigating with confidence.

It may also move them to produce there disclosure. However, given the pain they have caused you if you do get that opinion from the ICO then some damages for the distress will be almost automatic and I would suggest that you go ahead and begin litigation.

It will be easy, quick, you can do it with confidence – and it will encourage you if you have to follow the same route with them or anybody else again.

However let's cross that bridge when we come to it 

[BankFodder]

I haven't looked at it all yet – but I can tell you that my first impression is that it is far too long and you are going into all sorts of personal detail which is totally irrelevant.
It needs to be completely factual and relate simply to the breach of statutory duty

[BankFodder]

I hope you won't feel too demoralised but I have crossed out all the information which I think is irrelevant – and I'm afraid that is the bulk of your letter.

I think what is relevant is the reminders that you have sent them, copies of the subject access request and any other messages that you have sent them relating to your request.
Their duplicate disclosure to you of material in place of the statutory disclosure that they should have made.

One thing you have to realise is that these people who work in the ICO – like most other offices of this kind, want to get through their correspondence quickly. They don't want have to do a triage of stuff which is relevant – and the rest which simply amounts to a rehearsal of the substantive problem that you are having with Eon.

The fact that Eon may be overcharging you, is not a problem of the ICO at the moment – although later on if you manage to establish the truth of it, then we will have a new complaint against them to the ICO for inaccurate data processing.
However, you aren't there yet

[BankFodder]

I don't know if that is the correct email and maybe it is a good idea to telephone them .

Important thing is to get a reference number .

I'm afraid that GDPR has been a failure to the extent that it has created a huge amount of extra work for the ICO because companies now are so aware, but it hasn't been accompanied by resources .

 

 

You used to be able to make a complaint to the ICO and you would get a reply within about 10 days or 2 weeks.

 

Now. It can take months and only if you are on the case

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

I suggest that you respond to them and tell them that the amount they are seeking is in dispute, that they are in breach of their statutory duty to provide you with your data and that a complaint has been made to the ICO under reference number XXX.

It won't make any difference – but at least you have a paper trail and you can show that they have been put on notice.

[BankFodder]

I'm afraid that I am completely out of the loop with this thread. Could you remind us what the relevant dates are in respect of the sum claimed and have they given you a proper statement of energy which has been used?

[BankFodder]

Please will you post a recap as requested